Reflection: A Stranger Things Fanfiction

~𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞: 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬~

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞:
𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬

Hardly ten minutes had gone by before Kayla shouted for the rest of the group a little more than ten yards from where they'd parked the car. Despite Stormi's constant reminder to stay together, it took a minute for all six individuals to surround the spot that had gotten their attention. Huddled like a football time at half-time, Dox, Stormi, Anna, Kayla, Evan, and Willow stood in a circle with all lights trained on the small, glimmering shape in the grass.

"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is," Stormi sighed as Evan bent down and took the object in his hands, wiping away the dew and mud from its surface. The shiny find was the size of Stormi's palm with a pin attached to the back, something that was supposed to be worn on a shirt or vest. It wasn't a surprise that the cops hadn't noticed it before; it was half-buried in the ditch surrounded by small shards of broken glass.

It was the sheriff's badge.

"Shit," Anna muttered, taking a deep breath and putting her hands on the top of her baseball cap, while everyone else shared similar reactions of mixed emotions. "This is not good, not good at all."

"She's nearby," Evan, the only person of the group to remain totally calm, spoke with confidence and slid the badge into his pocket. "We have to move now if we want to reach her in time." Red lights immediately began to flash in the babysitter's mind and she grabbed onto the back of the nearest kids' shirts - which so happened to be Kayla and Dox.

"Nope, not happening," There was no way in hell she was going to let these kids go after the sheriff by themselves, no matter how much crazy power Evan had in his arsenal. Her mother-instincts were kicking in at full-force and she was not going to deny them this time. "This isn't safe anymore, I'm taking you guys home and contacting the cops. Willow, grab the other two."

"I'm not touching Force-boy," Willow replied, but did manage to pick up Anna and sling her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes before the girl could resist.

"Wait! Stormi, we have to stay!" Dox yelled in protest; Kayla struggled to break free as well, trying to unlock the teenage girl's grip with her lanky arms but failing to reach.

There was no discussing it; no way was she going to let these kids get into trouble again. She'd been stupid to bring them to the wreck site in the first place, and now she was going to have to wrangle them all into the backseat of her BMW without hurting them or getting one of her eyes poked out in the process. But at least they'd all be alive by tomorrow morning.

"Stormi..." As great as it was to have Willow hanging around these days, the tone in her voice was not a helpful one, therefore not worth Stormi's attention. If Willow was going to mock her for biting off more than she could chew, now was not the time or place. Though she did lighten her grip on the two kids a bit; Stormi had never been a "physical" kind of person with other people so this in itself was pushing her out of her comfort zone.

"Stormi-"

"I don't want to hear it, Willow," The high school student shouted over her shoulder. "You can make fun of my babysitting skills later."

"Stormi!"

She'd never spun her head around so fast. The pain that shot through her neck was like a snake-bite; it stabbed between her shoulder blades and soaked into her throat, up into her nasal passage and clawed the base of her skull. The resistance felt as if someone had put their hands on her temples and tried to hold her skull in place, looking straight ahead. Had she not been in such a frustrated mood, she wouldn't have been so hasty.